"Just a Dog"

The three words I must admit I really dislike is he’s “just a dog."  In fact, I not only dislike it I must also admit that I hate it and I don’t hate too many things.

Let me tell you a little about my “just a dog”.  He’s the reason I get up in the morning and walk in steamy hot weather or snow and ice.  He’s the reason I make sure I have plenty of food on hand for him at all times.  He’s the reason I go down the dog food aisle to bring home special treats to see his happy face and wagging tail.  He’s the reason I stay by his side when he has an epileptic seizure.  He’s the reason I have had extremely high vet bills.  He’s the reason I buy special food for him to decrease his seizures.  He’s the reason I am so excited to walk in the door when I get home. He’s the reason I go to the park and walk two miles in the heat.

This may sound horrible to someone who thinks he’s just a dog.  Now if you are one of those people you must wonder why anyone would have just a dog.  Why do I have just a dog?

I have just a dog because no one on the planet would stay by my side constantly while I’m sick.  No one sleeps by my side all night long every night and snuggles against my leg.  No one is as excited to see me as much as just a dog.  No one kisses my tears away like just a dog.  No one wakes me up with a happy face and wagging tail each morning.   No one stays by my side all the time like just a dog.  No one makes me a better person as much as just a dog.   

So who is just a dog.  His name is Scamp.  He is 10 years old and he has been having epileptic seizures since he was 1 ½ years old.  I had a person ask me once with all the seizures he has why I would keep him.  I keep him because he is part of my family. When we brought him into our home we brought him in for life.  If your child had epileptic seizures would you get rid of them?  Scamp has given our family so much more than we could ever give him and he asks for nothing in return. 

All just a dog wants is to be loved and taken care of properly.  What you get in return is everything they have to give.  How many people do that for you? So next time you think to yourself it’s just a dog….think again.  It’s not just a dog, it’s unconditional love and I don’t think anyone in my life loves me more than my just a dog. 

My family loves our Scamp and he will never be “just a dog”.

Seizures In Dogs: You Can Stop Them With A Bag Of Ice

We have a precious little Jack Russell Terrier named Scamp. He's a wonderful part of our family and like most people who have pets, we love him. We have gone to the ends of the earth to take care of him and make sure he has all he needs to be happy.

He is a very special dog because first he was saved as a little puppy and second he is one of many dogs who have epilepsy. This has broken our hearts over the last three-and-a-half years. To see the animal you love so dearly have seizures is heartbreaking, to say the least. It has cost us both emotionally and financially as a family. We love this dog so much and he's such a big part of our family. We do our best for him. Even though at times we couldn't afford the cost at the emergency vet in the middle of the night, we took him there.

Recently my husband and I did research on the Internet regarding dogs with epilepsy. What we found was amazing. Something the eight or so vets we have seen over the past years had never even mentioned to us. It's as simple as keeping a bag of ice in your freezer.

We had never tried this until this morning at 5:00 a.m. when Scamp began seizuring. I've never seen anything work so fast in my life. As I write this this morning I'm still amazed and can't believe that what ended a seziure was as simple as a bag of ice and 2 teaspoons of vanilla ice cream to elevate his blood sugar level.

Here's how it works: all you do is fill a food storage bag (at least one quart size) with crushed ice and leave it in the freezer. When your dog starts to seizure remove the bag of ice from the freezer and place it firmly on his lower back. Scamp came out of his seizure in about 30 to 60 seconds. Never have I seen this happen so quickly. I know I keep using this word but it was truly amazing. There's no other word for it.

He came out of the seizure smoothly and with no post-ictal symptoms whatsoever. He began to walk and followed my husband and I right into the kitchen. I went to the freezer and took out vanilla ice cream and took two teaspoons out of the carton. I placed them in a microwave safe bowl and zapped it for about 10 seconds, mushed it, put it in his clean food dish and he lapped it up. He was fine. He wanted to go outside so my husband followed him out to make sure he would be OK. He went to the bathroom, roamed around the yard for a bit and came in and went back to sleep on our bed. I'm still in shock.


The blue area above is approximately where you need to place the ice bag using the "ice pack method"


It is now 11:00 am and he is doing just fine. The emotional and financial burden this has placed on our family has been so very difficult over the years. Not to mention how upset our daughter gets when this happens. To see your precious little dog clench and seizure is not an easy thing to endure, but we did. Now to find out that a simple bag of ice on his back and two teaspoons of vanilla ice cream is all it takes to get him out of an epileptic seizure just makes me crazy.

Why over the past three-and-a-half years hadn't one vet even mentioned this method? Especially knowing how hard a seizure can be on our little guy's body. This makes me more than angry. Not to mention all the emotional things we go through as a family. Watching my daughter have tears streaming down her face as we try to get the seizure under control. Then we have to take him to the emergency vet, knowing how much money they will charge.

This "ice pack method" has been in medical journals for the past five years. Scamp has been having seizures since he was about two years old. This has been going on for over three years and neither our regular vet nor any of the many emergency vets had said one thing about using something as simple as a bag of ice and two teaspoons of ice cream. Better they pump him full of medication, shave his paw and put a needle in his vein I guess.

I hope I'm wrong in what I'm thinking, but I'm wondering if money isn't the root of all evil. How else can you have a little 15-pound dog go through seizure after seizure and not mention something as simple as a bag of ice to try to help him and his owners? I'm more than stunned. However, in this day and age why should I be?

If you want more information about the "ice pack method", click HERE.